Price and credit sensing arrangement

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for vending more than one article or service at specified credit levels includes an arrangement for preventing vending unless the proper credit is established and for preventing more than one vend at a time. An arrangement of credit levers permit displacement of a series of slidable members in response to operator selection when a proper credit has been established. The levers limit displacement of the slidable members to an extent such that only one selection is vended at a time.

United States Patent [72] Invenmr Owen J, Schwgllfgggr Gilchrist 194/DIG. 19 1 2,142,053 12/1938 Hoban 194/D1G. 19 [2|] APPL 759, 53 2,681,842 6/1954 Rabkin et al.... l94/DIG. 19 [22] Filed Sept. 2, 9 3 2,819,815 1/1958 Stumbaugh 221/125X [45] Patented July 13, 1971 FOREIGN PATENTS 1 1 Assisnee will" 330,276 5/1930 Great Britain 194/010. 19 Ch sm 366.087 1/ 1932 Great Britain l94/DlG. 19

Primary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman [54] PRICE AND CREDIT SENSING ARRANGEMENT Attorneys-Ronald L. Engel, Daniel W. Vittum, Jr. and

8 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs. Gomer W. Walters [52] US. Cl. 194/2,

221/125 ABSTRACT: Apparatus for vending more than one article or [51] Ill. Cl. G0" 11/00 service at specified credit levels includes an arrangement for [50] Field of Search l94/DIG. preventing vending unless the proper credit is established and 18v 55, 93; for preventing more than one vend at a time. An arrangement 221/125 of credit levers permit displacement of a series of slidable members in response to operator selection when a proper [56] References Cned credit has been established. The levers limit displacement of UNITED STATES PATENTS the slidable members to an extent such that only one selection 1,891,640 12/1932 Gottfried l94/D1G. 19 is vended at a time.

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PRICE AND CREDIT SENSING ARRANGEMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a price selection and credit lockout arrangement, and more particularly this invention relates to an arrangement for prohibitingoperation of an article vending apparatus unless appropriate credit has been registered and for limiting the apparatus to a single vend operation upon establishment of the requisite credit.

2. Description of the Prior Art In connection with many devices which require the establishment of credit before they will perform a selected operation, it is necessary to have an arrangement to prevent the selected operation from being initiated without proper payment therefor, and an arrangement to prevent multiple operations for a single credit establishment. A particular example of such a device is one for dispensing articles such as that disclosed in a patent application entitled Article'Vending Apparatus, tiled concurrently herewith in the names of A. G. Bodoh, O. .I. Schwertfeger, and R. A. Johnson and assigned to the same assignee as this application. In such an article-vending machine it is desirable to provide an arrangement to prevent a selected article from being dispensed until agreement between the price of the article selected and the credit established is reached. Also it is frequently necessary in connection with such an article vending device, to-employ an arrangement that will prevent the dispensing of more than one article for a single credit. Finally it is often desired to provide an arrangement permitting the vending machine to vend articles at more than one price level.

To perform the several functions described above, different arrangements have been employed in conventional articlevending machines. These conventional arrangements commonly employ separate mechanisms to prevent vending without agreement between credit establishment and the price ofa selected article, and to prevent multiple vending for a single credit. Certain disadvantages attend the employment-of separate mechanisms to perform these two functions.

As compared to an arrangement wherein a single mechanism can perform both functions, a dual-mechanism arrangement is more costly to construct. Also, since a dualmechanism arrangement necessarily involves more moving parts, there is a greater chance of failure in the operation of such an arrangement. Furthermore, synchronization of the operation of two separate mechanisms is necessary, and a possibility exists in connection therewith, that the separate operations of the two mechanisms will fall out of sequence .in the course ofoperation ofthe vending machine.

Moreover, in most conventional article-vending machines having a plurality of article-carrying members, each member can only dispense articles at one credit level. Such an arrangement has the disadvantage of requiring that a particular member must always carry the same type of article or an article of equal value, thereby severely restricting the utility of the machine. Where multiple price levels are provided, the apparatus is generally a complex mechanical arrangement-or an electrical arrangement. Both of these approaches have obvious disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Although there are many possible applications of the sub ject invention, it is particularly advantageous when employed in a vending mechanism, such as an artiele-vendingmachine, and for exemplary purposes will be described in its preferred embodiment in the context of such a machine as that'claimed in an application entitled Article Vending Apparatus" filed concurrently herewith in the names of A. G. Bodoh, O. J.

Schwertfeger, and R. A: Johnson and assigned tothe same as-- signee as the subject application. The article vending machine application is directed toward anarrangement in which selections comprising articles to be dispensed are carried in a plurality of movable trays mounted on a plurality of horizontal shelves, with the shelves vertically stacked" one above the other. A credit lockout and selection limiting arrangement described below is associated with each horizontal shelf of movable trays.

Briefly, two horizontal expansible lockout columns, one form of which may be rows of sliding members, are provided in association with each row of movable trays. One row of sliding members is positioned vertically above the other and each extends seriatim fashion across the entire width of the machine. The expansion of row sliding members is normally maintained at a minimum level by limiting means. The limiting means may be pivoted upper and lower selector levers in their respective normal positions, that engage the end of a row of slidable members. In this normal position, the sliding members prevent the movement of a horizontal slide actuator member, associated with each movable tray, toward the rear of the machine to its vend position, in which it initiates a vending cycle. Thus in their normal position, corresponding to a situation in which credit is not established for any selection, the sliding members perform a lockout function to prevent vending.

When proper credit is established for a selection,'creditresponsive means causes one of the selector levers to be freed to pivotally rotate out of its normal position to a stop position. This permits .displacement of the sliding members, in the adjacent row, from their normal position .and upon selection of ,an article from a movable tray, a leg on the associated in its stop position further displacement of the sliding membersin the adjacent row is prevented, and no other leg of a slide actuator member can slide between adjacent sliding members to allow the slide actuator member to reach its vend position. Thus,-when one selection in a row of movable trays has been made, a further selection in that row is prevented by the arrangement of the present invention and a credit lockout function is performed thereby.

Each slide actuator associated with a movable tray has two legs mounted on it, and can be manually rotated betweenv a position in which an upper leg is adapted to engage the upper row of sliding members and a position in which the lower leg is adapted to engage the lower row of sliding members. Since the displaceability of the upper and lower rows can be made responsive to different levels of credit establishment, respec-v tively, as will be explained below, a movable tray can be optionally set to dispense the articles it carries at either one or the other of two credit levels, by the manual rotation of the slide actuator member associated therewith.

'In its normal position each selector leveris blocked against pivotal rotation to its stop position by a blocking lever. In connection with a row of movable trays an upper blocking leveris associated with the upper selector lever and a lowerblocking lever is associated with the, lower selector lever. The upper blocking lever is adapted to be moved out of the path of pivotal rotation of the upper selector lever by a solenoid responsive to..credit establishment when a -high".-level. of

credit isestablished. Similarly, the lower blocking lever is and interacts therewith to perform a vertical lockout function.

When either Selector lever is caused to pivotally rotate by a selection made in its associated row of movable trays, the selector level causes the roller stop to move from its normal position to a stop position in which it prevents further rotation of the selector lever. The roller stop interacts with an arrangemerit comprising a vertical slide actuator and row of vertical sliding members, which operates in a manner similar to that of a horizontal slide actuator and row of horizontal sliding membersJWhen the roller stop is moved from its normal position to its stop position, the arrangement of the vertical slide actuator and vertical sliding members prevent any other roller stop associated with another row of movable trays from moving in a similar fashion. Thus the roller stops associated with other rows of movable trays are held immovable in their normal positions in which they prevent the rotation of adjacent seleclockout function is performed by the arrangement of the subject invention.

Thus the arrangement of the subject invention:"( 1 prevents dispensing of a selected article without proper credit establishment; (2) performs a horizontal lockout function in preventing more than one selection in a given row of movable trays for a given credit; (3) performs a vertical lockout function in preventing an additional selection in a row of movable trays other than that from which a first selection is made, for a single credit; and (4) provides a pricing option in connection with the dispensing of articles from each movable tray.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a credit lockout and selection-limiting arrangement that'utilizes the same elements to prevent a vend operation unless a predetermined credit has been established and to prevent vending of more .than one selection for a single credit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a credit lockout and selection-limiting arrangement in which an option is provided with regard to the credit level required for each selection.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a credit lockout and selection-limiting arrangement which is inexpensive both to construct and maintain.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a credit lockout and selection-limiting arrangement which positively locks the vend-initiating members to prevent selection without credit establishment and multiple vending, and is therefore very reliable in its operation.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a credit lockout and selection-limiting arrangement which has few moving parts and a relatively simple mode of operation and therefore requires little maintenance and is unlikely to fail in its operation.

These and other objects, features, and advantages of the subject invention will hereinafter appear and, for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, an exemplary embodiment of the subject invention is shown in the appended drawing.

BRlEF'description OF THE DRAWING vention;

FIG. 4A is a schematic top view of the horizontal sliding members and horizontal slide actuator members used in the preferred embodiment of the present invention and depicts a horizontal slide actuator in a dispensing position. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a horizontal slide actuator member used in the preferred embodiment of the present in- FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line SA-SA of FIGURE 5. i

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference to the drawings, a price selection and credit lockout mechanism embodying the subject invention is shown in FIGURES l5 for exemplary purposes in the context of the article vending machine such as that'described in the above-cited copending application filed concurrently herewith. In the operation of the vending machine, articles to be dispensed are carried in a plurality of longitudinally reciprocating package trays arranged on a plurality of horizontal shelves, with the shelves being vertically stacked one above the other. The preferred embodiment of the price selection and credit lockout mechanism of the present inven- Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a first actuator member 2 is as-.

sociated with each shelf at one end of the vending machine. In

this preferred embodiment, actuator member 2 is a solenoid that is energized by the establishment ofa credit level (i.e., by depositing the proper amount of coins) to cause a horizontal plunger portion 4 of the solenoid to retract. A second actuator member 6 associated with the same shelf of trays is positioned beneath first actuating member 2. In this preferred embodiment, second actuator member 6 is a solenoid that is energized by the establishment of a secondcredit IeveL-which causes it to retract a horizontal plunger portion 8 of the solenoid.

A first blocking lever 10 is normally positioned horizontally, ina vertical plane, and has a generally right-triangle-shaped head portion 12 attached to its end-adjacent actuator member 2, along the hypotenuse of the right triangle. A side of the head adjacent the right angle is colinear with the top side of blocking lever 10, and the other side of the head, adjacent the right angle, extends generally downwardly and is longer than the vertical width of the blocking lever 19 so that the vertex formed by the lower end of downwardly projecting side and the end of the hypotenuse away from blocking lever 10 lies below the bottom surface of blocking lever 10. Blocking lever 10 is pivotally mounted for pivotal rotation in a vertical plane about pivot 14, which extends through a pivot mounting 24 attached to head 12 adjacent the vertex of its hypotenuse and its side away from blocking lever 10. Blocking lever 10 is biased for clockwise pivotal rotation about pivot 14 towards its normal horizontal position.

Attached to the side of head 12 away from blocking leverll) is a pivot lever 16, which extends generally upwardly beyond the end of the side of head 12 away from the blocking lever. The upper end of pivot lever 16 is attached to plunger 4 so that blocking lever 10 pivots from its normal horizontal position in a counterclockwise direction (FIG. 1 orientation) when plunger 4 is caused to retract by the establishment of the first credit level and the energization of actuator member 2.

A second blocking lever 18 is normally positioned horizontally in a vertical plane beneath blocking lever 10 and is coplanar therewith. Head-mounting arm 20 lying in a vertical tached along its hypotenuse to mounting arm 20, and the vertical plane of head 22 extends at an angle with respect to the vertical plane of mounting arm so that the vertical planes of the head 22 and blocking lever 18 are generally parallel, with the head being offset in a horizontal direction from the blocking arm. The side of the triangle-shaped head away from the mounting arm extends generally upwardly and is longer than the vertical dimension of the blocking lever 18 so that the vertex formed by this side and the hypotenuse is above the upper surface of blocking lever 18. Hea d 22 is positioned in a vertical plane adjacent to that in which head 12 is positioned, and is removed therefrom in a horizontal direction by reason of the offset of mounting arm 20, although blocking levers l0 and 18 are coplanar. Blocking lever 18 is mounted for pivotal rotation in a vertical plane about pivot 14, which extends through pivot mounting 25 attached to head 22 adjacent the vertex of its hypotenuse and its side away from mounting arm 20. Blocking levers l0 and 18 are mounted scissors fashion, having a common pivot 14. Blocking arm 18 is biased for counterclockwise pivotal rotation (FIG. I orientation) about pivot 14 towards its normal horizontal position wherein its upper surface engages the lower surface of blocking lever I0, causing them both to be normally maintained in a horizontal position.

Pivot lever 26 is attached to the side of head 22 away from blocking lever 18 and extends below the end of the side. Plunger 8 is attached to the bottom of pivot lever 26 so that blocking lever 18 will pivot downward in a clockwise direction from its normal horizontal position when plunger 8 is caused to retract by the establishment of the second credit level and the energization of actuator member 6.

A first selector lever 28 has a downwardly projecting L- shaped pivot mounting 30 attached at its end away from blocking lever 10. Selector lever 28 is pivotally mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane about a vertical pivot 32 fixed to the vending machine that passes through pivot mounting 30. A downwardly projecting selector stud 34 is attached to the bottom side of selector lever 28 at a point between the ends of the selector lever. In its normal position, selector lever 28 is held in a position disengaged from blocking lever 10 by spring 31 shown schematically" which biases the selector lever toward counterclockwise pivotal rotation, (FIG. 1 orientation) and selector lever 28 is adapted to be pivotally rotated to engage blocking lever 10 when the blocking lever is in its normal horizontal position (i.e., the position blocking lever 10 occupies when the first credit level has not been established). When the first credit level is established, and actuator member 2 causes blocking lever 10 to pivotally rotate upwardly, in a counterclockwise fashion, blocking lever 10 moves out of the path of rotation of selector lever 28, thus permitting selector lever 28 to be pivotally driven in a clockwise direction past the point of engagement with blocking lever I0 to its vend posi tion.

A second selector lever 36, substantially the same as selector lever 28, is pivotally mounted below selector lever 28for rotation in a horizontal plane about vertical pivot 32 which passes through a pivot mounting 38 on the end of selector lever 36. An upwardly projecting selector stud 37 is attached to the upper surface of selector lever 36 at a point between its ends. In its normal position, selector lever 36 is held in a position disengaged from blocking lever 18 by spring 39 (shown schematically) which biases the selector lever toward counterclockwise pivotal rotation (FIG. 1 orientation), and selector lever 36 is adapted to be drivingly rotated in a clockwise direction to cause its free end to engage blocking lever .18 when the blocking lever is in its normal horizontal position (i.e., the position occupied by blocking lever 18 when the second credit level has not been established). When the member 2. Each segment 40 is generally of a rectangular configuration having truncated corners adjacent the front of the machine, whereby, when adjacent segments 40 are in contact, a V-shaped notch is formed adjacent each point of contact. The row of sliding segments 40 is adapted to be normally maintained in a position wherein the segment 42 adjacent selector lever 28 is engaged by selector stud 34 when the selector lever is in its normal position, whereby the biasing force of spring 31 on selector lever 28 holds the segments in contact with those adjacent to it, and causes the entire row to abut against the end of the machine away from selector lever 28.

A second horizontal row of sliding segments 44 FIGS. 1, 4, and 4A), substantially the same as the row of sliding segments 40, is mounted below the row of sliding segments 40 for longitudinal reciprocal movement and extends across the width of the vending machine away from actuator member 6. Each segment is generally of a rectangular configuration having truncated corners adjacent the front of the machine, whereby when adjacent segments are in contact a V-shaped notch is formed adjacent each point of contacLThe row of sliding segments44 is adapted to be normally mounted in a position wherein the segment 46 adjacent selector lever 36 is engaged by selector stud 37 when the selector lever is in its normal position, so that the biasing force of spring 39 on selector lever 36 holds the segments 44 in contact with those adjacent to it and causes the entire row to abut against the end of the machine away from selectorlever 36.

In association with each movable tray of the vending machine a rotatable slide actuator 48 (FIGS. 5 and 5A) is provided. Slide actuator 48 has a vertical cylindrical base portion 50 pivotally mounted on a selector mechanism (not shown) employed in connection with an article-vending machine for selection ofa product by a customer. A first slide actuator leg 52 attached to the base 50 adjacent its top and extending radially therefrom has a V-shaped pointed head portion 54 on its outer end that is adapted to engage the V-shaped notches formed between the sliding segments 40. A second slide actuav tor leg 56, substantially the same as actuator leg 52, is attached to base 50 at a point below the point of attachment of leg 52 and is displaced therefrom by an angle of 90 about the circumference of the cylindrical base 50, and as in the case of.

actuator leg '52 a V-shaped pointed head portion 58 is formed on the outer end of leg 56 that is adapted to engage the V- shaped notches formed between the sliding segments 44 of the lower row of sliding segments. Slide actuator 48 is pivotally rotatable between a first position wherein the first leg 50 is in a position to engage the notches formed between sliding segments 40 when the selector mechanism is actuated and a second position wherein the second leg '56 is in a position to engage the notches formed between sliding segments 44 when the'selector mechanism is actuated. In its first position slide actuator 48 is adapted to permit dispensing from itsassociated movable tray upon the establishment of a first credit level and in its second position slide actuator member 48 is adapted to permit dispensing from its associated movable tray upon the establishment of the second credit level. Thus, this feature of the present invention allows each tray to be independently set to dispense its articles at either of two levels of credit establishment.

In its normal position, each slide actuator 48 is disengaged from its associated slide members, but when a customer actuates a selection-mechanism, the corresponding slide actuator is driven toward the rear of the machine to a position wherein second credit level is establish e d and actuator member 67 a slide actuator leg engages the notch between its associated causes blocking lever 18 to rotate downwardly in a counterclockwise fashion, blocking lever 18 moves out of the path of rotation of selector lever 36, thus permitting selector-lever 36 to be pivotally driven in a clockwise direction past the point of engagement with blocking lever 18 to its vend position.

slide members and urges the slide members to slide outwards in order to permit the leg to slide in between two adjacent slide members. If a proper level of credit has not been established for the row of slide members engaged by the legof the slide actuator,.the:.associated slide members are-prevented from being driven out of contact with each other and the slide actuator cannot slide between them toward the rear of the machine to its vend position, so that the selector means are prevented from initiating a dispensing operation. If a proper level of credit has been established for the particular selection, the slide members are freed to slide, and the V-shaped head of a leg of the slide actuator engages its associated slide members and displaces them to either side of the leg, whereby the leg is permitted to slide between the slide members to its vend position (shown schematically in FIG. 4A), and theselector is permitted to initiate a dispensing operation. It should be noted that the slide actuator members, the sliding members, and the relationship therebetween are shown schematically, and that in the actual'design of this invention these members are adapted to assume the configuration and perform the operation as described herein. With a leg of the slide actuator in this position, all of the clearance between the slide members and .the walls of the vending machine is occupied, so another slide actuator cannot be driven between two sliding segments to its vend position. Thus, multiple vending in the row in which selection ismade is precluded.

Referring again to FIGS. l3, a vertical lockout mechanism is illustrated. A vertical stop roller 62 is biased to normally engage selector levers 28 and 36, by a spring 78 (shown schematically in FIG. 1). Roller 62 is attached to roller mounting arm 64, which is in turn attached to circular pivot mounting 66. The combination of roller 62 and mounting arm 64 are adapted to be pivotally rotated in a horizontal plane about a pivot 68 that passes through pivot mounting 66. A slide-actuator-mounting arm 70 is attached to circular pivot mounting 66 at a point removed by approximately 180 from the point of attachment of roller-mounting arm 64. A vertical slide actuator 72 is attached adjacent to the outer end of mounting arm 70 and makes a generally right angle with respect thereto. The outer end of vertical slide actuator 72 has .a V-shaped head portion 74. Mounting arm 70 and vertical slide actuator 72 are adapted for pivotal rotation about pivot 68.

A row of vertical sliding members 76, substantially the same as sliding members 40 and 44, extending the entire height of the vending machine are provided as illustrated in FIG. 1. Each sliding member 76 is a rectangle having truncated cor ners adjacent to the vertical slide actuator 72, so that a V- shaped notch is formed at the point of contact between each two adjacent members. The row of sliding members 76 is adapted to be engaged by the V-shaped head 74 of vertical slide-actuating member 72. The vertical sliding members 76 are slidably mounted for reciprocal movement in a vertical plane and in a normal position are maintained in contact with each other due to the action of gravity and abut upon the bottom portion of the machine. At the top of the machine a stop member (not shown) is provided above the topmost sliding member 76 in order to provide a clearance between the stop and the sliding members equal to the vertical width of the vertical slide actuator 72. The vertical slide actuator 72 is nor mally disengaged from the vertical slide members 76, being biased away from them by spring 78 (shown schematically in FIG. 1). The slide actuator member 72 is adapted to be pivotally rotated into engagement with vertical slide members 76 and to slide between them when either of the selector levers 28 or 36 move past their respective blocking levers l and l8;to their vend position. In this engaged position the clearance between the topmost sliding member and the stop member is occupied, and vertical slide actuators associated with other shelf levels are prevented from sliding between their adjacent vertical slide members. It should be noted that the vertical slide actuator member, vertical sliding members and the relationship therebetween are shown schematically, and that in the actual design of this invention these members are adapted to assume the configurations and perform the operations as described herein.

A representative operation of the price selection and credit lockout mechanism of the present invention can be briefly described as follows. Uponthe establishment of a first level of credit actuator 2 is energized-causing plunger 4 to retract,

. towards the rear of the machine and V-shaped head 54 of leg 52 enters theV-shaped notch formed between two adjacent slide members 40, and cammingly engages them. Since blocking lever 10 is out of the path of rotation of selector lever 28, selector stud 34 is free to rotate and the camming engagement of sliding members 40 by leg 52 displaces sliding members 40 in the direction of stud member 34 and causes the sliding member 42 adjacent the stud member to engage the stud and pivotally rotate selector lever 28 in a clockwise direction. The displacement of sliding members 40 permits leg 52 to slide between its adjacent sliding members 40 to its vend position and thereby permit the selector means to reach a position wherein a vending cycle is initiated. Had the first level of credit not been established, blocking lever 10 would not have rotated out of the path of selector lever 28, and the stud 34 would not have been free to rotate. Therefore, displacement of the sliding members 40 would have been prohibited and sliding actuator leg 52 would not have been allowed to slide between the sliding members to its vend position.

When the leg 52 is in its vend position between associated sliding members 40, selector lever 28 is prohibited from further clockwise rotation by roller stop 62 whereby sliding members 40 cannot-be further displaced, being restrained therefrom by selector stud 34. Thus, no other actuator leg 52 associated with the same row of movable trays can slide between its adjacent sliding members to its vend position, so another article cannot be selected from that row.

Also, additional selections from other rows is prevented by the subject invention. When selector lever 28 is caused to pivotally rotate by the displacement of sliding members 40, selector lever 28 engages roller stop 62 and pivotally rotates it in a clockwise direction whereby the V-shaped head 74 of vertical sliding actuator 72 is rotated into camming engagement with its adjacent vertical sliding members 72 and slides between them, vertically displacing those sliding members above-it to eliminate the normal clearance between the topmost sliding member and the stop member adjacent thereto. With one leg 72 in this position, the clearance between the vertical sliding members 76 has been occupied so no other leg can assume a similar position. Therefore,the roller stops 62 at means associated with a slide actuator member in its second position is the same as the operation described above. This further emphasizes an important feature of the present invention, "namely, that an option is provided with regard to the setting of a credit level for each movable tray.

It should be recognized that the preferred embodiment described herein is merely exemplary of the present invention and that various changes, modifications, and variations may be made in the arrangements, operations, and details of con-" struction of the elements disclosed herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A vending mechanism having a plurality of selections and a multiple price credit lockout and selection-limiting arrangement comprising:

a plurality of expansible lockout columns, each of said columns being separated from the others and each representing a different price for the selections;

a lurality of actuators, each actuator being adjustably arranged to interact with a preselected one of said columns and adapted to be activated to initiate vending of an associated selection upon the establishing of credit corresponding to the price represented by said preselected column;

limiting means located adjacent said expansible columns 7 and normally limiting the expansion thereof to prevent activation of said actuators; and

credit-responsive means adapted to control said limiting means to permit a column representing a price corresponding to the established credit to expand sufficiently to permit a single one of said actuators to be activated.

2. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

each of said expansible lockout columns is a row of discrete members arranged in a seriatim fashion, each of said dis crete members normally being held in contact with those adjacent to it by said limiting means; and

energization of said credit-responsive means conditions one of said rows for expansion upon activation of one of said actuator members to interact with said row and thereby cause a clearance to be formed bet-ween adjacent discrete members.

3. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein:

said limiting means comprises a plurality of pivotally rotatable levers, each of said levers associated with one of said rows of discrete members normally engaging one end of its associated row to prevent the expansion thereof and adapted to be released for pivotable rotation to-permit said associated row to expand sufficiently to provide for the insertion of a single one of said actuators therein; and

said credit-responsive means comprises a plurality of pivoted credit levers, each of which normally engages a corresponding one of said limiting levers and is adapted to be disengaged therefrom upon establishment of credit corresponding to the price represented by the row associated with the corresponding limiting lever.

4. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim Z'Wherein each 'of said actuators comprises a rotatable base having a plurality of legs corresponding to the number ofexpansible columns ex-. tending radially therefrom, each of said legs being adapted to interact with an associated column if the selection associated with the actuator carrying the leg is to be vended at the price represented by the associated column. I

. 5. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 4'wherein each of said legs on a given one of said actuators is angularly spaced from each of the other legs on said actuator.

6. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 4 wherein: said discrete members are rectangular sliding members having truncated corners on the side adjacent said actuators to form a series of V-shaped notches; and each of said legs comprises a longitudinal lever having a V- shaped projection adapted to engage an associated one of said V-shaped notches. 7. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 4 wherein:

said rows of discrete members are horizontally positioned, said rows being located in a common vertical plane with each of said rows being vertically separated from the others; and said base of each of said actuators has its axis positioned in a vertical plane parallel to the common plane of said rows, each of said actuators being located in the same horizontal plane as the row of discrete members with which it is adapted to interact. 8. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising:

a plurality of vertically displaced selection levels, each of said selection levels having a plurality of expansible lockout columns, a plurality of actuators, limiting means, and credit-responsive means; and means responsive to activation of one of said actuators at one of said selection levels to prevent activation of all of said actuators at other selection levels. 

1. A vending mechanism having a plurality of selections and a multiple price credit lockout and selection-limiting arrangement comprising: a plurality of expansible lockout columns, each of said columns being separated from the others and each representing a different price for the selections; a plurality of actuators, each actuator being adjustably arranged to interact with a preselected one of said columns and adapted to be activated to initiate vending of an associated selection upon the establishing of credit corresponding to the price represented by said preselected column; limiting means located adjacent said expansible columns and normally limiting the expansion thereof to prevent activation of said actuators; and credit-responsive means adapted to control said limiting means to permit a column representing a price corresponding to the established credit to expand sufficiently to permit a single one of said actuators to be activated.
 2. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 1 wherein: each of said expansible lockout columns is a row of discrete members arranged in a seriatim fashion, each of said discrete members normally being held in contact with those adjacent to it by said limiTing means; and energization of said credit-responsive means conditions one of said rows for expansion upon activation of one of said actuator members to interact with said row and thereby cause a clearance to be formed between adjacent discrete members.
 3. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein: said limiting means comprises a plurality of pivotally rotatable levers, each of said levers associated with one of said rows of discrete members normally engaging one end of its associated row to prevent the expansion thereof and adapted to be released for pivotable rotation to permit said associated row to expand sufficiently to provide for the insertion of a single one of said actuators therein; and said credit-responsive means comprises a plurality of pivoted credit levers, each of which normally engages a corresponding one of said limiting levers and is adapted to be disengaged therefrom upon establishment of credit corresponding to the price represented by the row associated with the corresponding limiting lever.
 4. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 2 wherein each of said actuators comprises a rotatable base having a plurality of legs corresponding to the number of expansible columns extending radially therefrom, each of said legs being adapted to interact with an associated column if the selection associated with the actuator carrying the leg is to be vended at the price represented by the associated column.
 5. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 4 wherein each of said legs on a given one of said actuators is angularly spaced from each of the other legs on said actuator.
 6. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 4 wherein: said discrete members are rectangular sliding members having truncated corners on the side adjacent said actuators to form a series of V-shaped notches; and each of said legs comprises a longitudinal lever having a V-shaped projection adapted to engage an associated one of said V-shaped notches.
 7. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 4 wherein: said rows of discrete members are horizontally positioned, said rows being located in a common vertical plane with each of said rows being vertically separated from the others; and said base of each of said actuators has its axis positioned in a vertical plane parallel to the common plane of said rows, each of said actuators being located in the same horizontal plane as the row of discrete members with which it is adapted to interact.
 8. A vending mechanism as claimed in claim 1 and further comprising: a plurality of vertically displaced selection levels, each of said selection levels having a plurality of expansible lockout columns, a plurality of actuators, limiting means, and credit-responsive means; and means responsive to activation of one of said actuators at one of said selection levels to prevent activation of all of said actuators at other selection levels. 